Subsidies of CZK 24 billion contributed to the expansion of the sewerage network in the Czech Republic. 87.4% of the population is connected to it
Press release on Audit No 22/24 – 23 October 2023
A total of CZK 24.1 billion spent on the construction of sewers in municipalities contributed to the expansion of the sewerage network in the Czech Republic. In 2021, 87.4% of the population of the Czech Republic was connected to the sewerage network, which corresponds to the strategic plan of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the Ministry of the Environment (MoE).
The SAO audit examined whether the state budget funds and EU funds spent between 2014 and 2021 from the Operational Programme "Environment 2014-2020", the subsidy programmes of the MoA and the National Environment Programme were used effectively, economically and efficiently. In addition to the MoA and the MoE, the State Environmental Fund (SEF) and 10 projects at specific beneficiaries, i.e. municipalities and associations of municipalities, were also audited.
A total of 1,360 projects are to be supported by the end of 2025 from a total of CZK 30.1 billion in subsidies. They are to provide 4,628 km of new sewers and technical upgrades to infrastructure, such as the construction or modernisation of wastewater treatment plants. A total of 399,650 inhabitants of municipalities in the Czech Republic are to be newly connected to the sewerage system. According to the SAO audit, 657 projects had been completed by 31 December 2022 (i.e. 48.3% of the plan) and CZK 24.1 billion had been paid out, which is more than 80% of the approved funds.
In April 2020, the MoA submitted information to the Ministry of Finance on the implementation of the sub-programme aimed at supporting the construction of sewerage systems in municipalities with a population up to 1,000 inhabitants. It shows that the target to build a total of 536 km of sewers from November 2012 to mid-June 2018 was exceeded by 220 km and 78,550 inhabitants were newly connected to improved wastewater treatment, which is 154% of the original plan. The average cost of CZK 4.3 million per km of sewerage system was in line with the methodology of the MoA, which determines the specific costs of newly built sewerage systems.
According to the SAO, both audited ministries and the SEF set the rules for drawing subsidies for the construction of sewers in such a way as to create the preconditions for their effective, economical and efficient spending. For the audited projects, the SAO did not identify any funds that were spent ineffectively, uneconomically or inefficiently.
Communication Department
Supreme Audit Office